


Speak

by xRamona



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F, Five Times Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-24 16:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7514998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xRamona/pseuds/xRamona
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five ways they say I love you without words, and the one time with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Speak

**I**

They're sitting, watching the game. The start of sprinkling rain was doing nothing to ruin the game or the mood of the onlookers. Ginny is cheering, not yet on the team but feeling so much a part of it already, screaming out in support of her house. Hermione had already tucked her book away in fear of getting it wet, and was anxiously watching her friends. The game wasn't safe, she knew this, and despite her companions making it safely back after most games she still couldn't quell the anxiety. Shivering, she brings her hands to her mouth, cups and breathes into them. Before she can pull them away, a cloak is being draped over her shoulders.

Ginny pulls back, offering a small smile before turning back to the game.

* * *

**II**

"She is your _sister_ , not your _property_. Ginny is more than welcome to do whatever she pleases with whomever she pleases so long as shes safe."  
"Safe? Safe! You call playing when its about to storm sa-"  
"Ronald." Her voice is a warning, low and solid, as her eyebrows raise. "How often have you played when bad weathers been predicted?"  
He relents, muttering under his breath and reaching for another addition to his plate.  
Ginny grins sending a wink to the older girl, and Hermione smiles back.  
And the next day, as Ginny is recovering from a fall in the hospital wing, Hermione is sitting in the chair nearby with a big book and not a single I Told You So.

* * *

**III**

"Boys are stupid." Ginny says, curling a thin arm around her friend. "My brother especially so."  
Hermione sniffs and shrugs, not bothering to move away as bright red blocks her vision. She is being pulled closer and tighter to Ginny, who takes her other hand in a gentle gesture. It seems like she curls around the crying girl, forming a protective barrier against the world. It's just them, for a moment, and Hermione is never so thankful.  
Ginny pulls back. "You could do better." She whispers, two sets of brown eyes locking.  
Because there is so much more to that sentence, so much more than either of them are ready to acknowledge, Hermione instead counts the freckles on the youngest Weasleys nose but not the others at home on her face. There is simple honesty written in the girls features. So strong, so determined, so earnest. She seems to be the toughest pillar, and Hermione lets herself fall apart apart against her.

* * *

  **IV**  
  
The book is sitting on her temporary bed when she gets back. Just sitting there as if it had always been, as if it belonged.  
A quick glance around tells her nothing of just _how_ it got there.  
Hesitantly, she picks it up to examine it. She finds the note there, in the front cover, its just a quick scribble of 'Happy Early Birthday! - Ginny'.  
Hermione is sure Ginny knows her birthday isn't for nearly six months, but she isn't going to comment on it.  
Instead, she reads the most interesting bits out loud while they're getting ready for bed.  
Six months later, she gets something from the same author. There isn't a note or a card this time, but Hermione doesn't need one to know exactly who it's from.

* * *

**V  
**

The bed across from hers is wracked with sobs, and thats when Hermione realizes.  
It's finally catching up to her. The reality of war has set in, so suddenly it seems, and she is watching Ginny Weasley crumble under the weight of it.  
It doesn't take another thought or second, the bushy haired girl is sliding out of one bed and into the next, wrapping herself around the ginger. She doesn't hush her, knowing just how much it needs to be out, and instead pulls her closer, whispering comforts into the darkness of their room.  
"I'll be here." She promises, and Ginnys only reply is something mixed of a whimper and a sigh.

* * *

 

**+**

They're lying together on Ginny's bed. It's bittersweet, the war has just ended so recently and despite the shocking happiness there is a terrible, underlying feeling to it all.  
So many lives lost. So many promises made and broken. So many bridges built and burned.  
And maybe they both have someone else, in a sort of always definite kind of way, but when they kiss it makes the sad go away for just a moment.  
"I love you." Ginny says, breaking the comfortable silence, a hand running through her friends thick curls.  
"I love you, too." Hermione replies immediately, as if the words had always been at just the tip of her tongue.  
They wouldn't ever be more than friends.   
Maybe they would always be friends that are sort of kind of in love, maybe they wouldn't.  
Maybe it didn't matter.


End file.
